8 healthy Chick-fil-A menu items you need to order

We're in the midst of summer, and some of our diets are long gone. Our beach bods aren't lookin' so hot, our green smoothies are starting to taste like death, and my favorite saying 'health is wealth' has gone down the drain. But one thing remains the same — my immense craving for Chick-fil-A. I decided to do some digging and found eight healthy Chick-fil-A menu items you need to try.

Chicken for breakfast? We can all agree that Chick-fil-A has completely revolutionized breakfast food. We still love our Chick-n-Minis, but the Egg White Grill is a much healthier option. It’s packed with flavor and won’t break your summer diet.

Calories: 300

Fat: 7 grams

Carbs: 31 grams

Protein: 25 grams

#SpoonTip: Breakfast is only served until 10:30 — rise and shine.

12-Count Grilled Nuggets

Melt-in-your-mouth grilled chicken is hard to come by, but Chick-fil-A has mastered it. Once you try their grilled nuggets, you might not switch back. There's a 200-calorie difference between their regular chicken nuggets and their grilled chicken nuggets, but you won’t notice any lack in flavor.

Calories: 210

Fat: 5 grams

Carbs: 3 grams

Protein: 38 grams

#SpoonTip: Zesty Buffalo, Barbecue, Honey Mustard, and Sweet and Spicy Sriracha sauces are all under 50 calories. Sorry Chick-fil-A sauce lovers, I was let down too.

Grilled Chicken Sandwich Without the Bun

With the bun, this sandwich is 440 calories. If you replace the bun with lettuce, you’ve got yourself a delicious grilled chicken sandwich that's less than 200 calories. Since this meal is pretty low in calories, try adding a side salad or fruit.

Calories: 140

Fat: 3 grams

Carbs: 14 grams

Protein: 30 grams

Spicy Southwest Salad With Chili Lime Vinaigrette

This salad is to die for and has a kick all spicy food advocates will love. It's packed with fresh corn, black beans, tomatoes, poblano chiles, bell peppers and is topped off with their famous spicy grilled chicken — you’ll be dreaming of this salad for weeks.

Calories: 350

Fat: 11 grams

Carbs: 36 grams

Protein: 29 grams

Grilled Chicken Cool Wrap

Three words: avocado lime dressing — this is what makes this wrap so damn delicious. This protein-packed wrap with a blend of fresh veggies will send you into wrap heaven.

Calories: 350

Fat: 14 grams

Carbs: 29 grams

Protein: 37 grams

Chicken Noodle Soup

No need to have a cold to eat this chicken noodle soup. A traditional favorite, but Chick-fil-A does it best. Tender and juicy chicken swimming in perfectly seasoned broth — 10/10.

Calories: 130

Fat: 2.5 grams

Carbs: 18 grams

Protein: 12 grams

#SpoonTip: Add a side salad or grilled nuggets for some extra fuel.

Superfood Side

Kale yeah, this side dish is packed with kale, broccolini, dried cherries, and a nut blend — YUM. Pair this superfood side with any of their meals to add some healthy greens.

Calories: 150

Fat: 9 grams

Carbs: 18 grams

Protein: 3 grams

Ice Dream Cone

I saved the best for last — I know what you’re thinking…ice cream? Healthy? Yes, Chick-fil-A did the unthinkable. Their Ice Dream is fairly low in calories but still has that homemade vanilla ice cream flavor everyone loves.

Chick-fil-A makes it easy to swap out your fried chicken meal for a healthier option without losing any of the flavor. It's important to keep in mind that sauces add up, though. Just two Chick-fil-A sauces add up to 280 calories. That's an Ice Dream cone you could be enjoying instead! Next time you're in the drive-thru, try one of these eight healthy Chick-fil-A menu items, and give Spoon TTU a shoutout when you do.

RELATED: Fast food secrets you didn't know

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What your fast food worker won't tell you

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What your fast food worker won't tell you

After we cook something, we put it in a holding cabinet and set a timer.

When the timer goes off, we’re supposed to throw it out. But often, we just reheat the food. So for the freshest meal, come between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. or between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. More people are in the restaurant then, so we’re cooking and serving new food constantly. (These are the worst meals you could order at a restaurant, by the way.)

That plain chicken breast may have been a healthy choice out of the package...

But sometimes we have to slather it with butter just to make sure it doesn’t stick to the grill. On the other hand, these healthy fast foods can satisfy unhealthy cravings.

There’s usually a way to get expensive menu items for less

If you’re craving a Big Mac, for example, order a $1 McDouble with no mustard or ketchup and then add shredded lettuce and Mac sauce for a small charge. It’s basically a mini Big Mac, and you can get two for less than the cost of one Big Mac. Check out more trivia facts you probably didn't know about McDonald's.

Most fast-food joints clean everything with super-concentrated chemicals at the end of the day

That includes the grills and the drink machine nozzles. If you’re one of the first customers in the morning, you may be getting some of that chemical residue on the food or in the drink you order—or, worse. You won't believe what was found on the ice in some fast food restaurants.

Those grill marks on your burger?

Not real. They were put there by the factory. If you want REAL grill marks, it's probably best to make your own at home with one of these burger recipes.

Most of us will cook something fresh for you if you ask

But if you want to make sure your french fries come right out of the fryer, order them without salt; that forces us to cook you a new batch. Then you can add your own salt, and they'll still taste the same. That's because of the secret ingredient that makes McDonald's fries so addictive.

Avoid asking for “extra” of something, like cheese or sauce

As soon as you say “extra,” we have to enter it at the register and charge you for it. Instead, just tell us you want us to “put a good amount on there” or “not to be skimpy with it,” and we’ll load you up.

Yes, our chili is made from what you think:

Meat from old burgers.

It makes me laugh when someone comes in and says she’s trying to be healthy—and then orders a salad with crispy chicken

At McDonald’s, some of those salads have about as many calories as a Big Mac. In fact, a small order of french fries contains four fewer grams of fat than a packet of our ranch dressing. Also, be wary of these "healthy" fast food choices that definitely aren't.

We’re timed on how fast we get customers through the drive-through...

...so we always prioritize those in line outside over anyone at the front counter. And after you leave the drive-through, use this trick to keep your fries crispy the whole way home.

One of my coworkers once got so mad that he spit in someone’s food

He was suspended for three days. Most of us would never do something like that.

Here’s a good way to know how clean a fast-food establishment really is:

When you get your drink, bend down and look up into the ice chute. If you see mold and other stuff growing in there—which is more common than you might expect—they’re not cleaning the machine as often as they’re supposed to.

Those gorgeous pictures of our food in our advertisements?

They’re airbrushed and touched up with fiberglass and paint. It probably takes two hours to make that picture. Obviously, we’re not going to be able to replicate that.

Please, please, get off your cell phone

I’ve had people pull up to the window, pay, and drive away without their food because they’re talking on the phone and not paying attention. Then they’re mad at me. Here are some more crazy stories from drive-through workers.

At most fast-food restaurants, it’s tough to give away free food

Especially things like burgers, because they’re inventoried. We can sometimes give away French fries, ice cream or drinks because we get those ourselves, but it depends on which manager is on duty.

We hate it when you order an ice cream

Most of the time, we’ve got to make it, and it’s already melting by the time we hand it to you. If you order four or five cones at a time, it’s almost impossible to get them to you before they melt everywhere, and then you want new ones.

Here’s something that surprised me when I started working at McDonald's:

Our clam grills are set at 750 degrees, and they can fully cook a regular beef hamburger in just 38 seconds, a quarter pounder in 70 seconds. The first time I ever saw that, I was like, 'Ewww.'

We’re happy to replace something if we mess up, but...

We can usually tell when you’re making up a story to get free food. There was one guy who found a pebble in our parking lot, put it in his food after he ate most of it, and then asked for a replacement. Another lady took 10 tacos home. The next day, she brought just a few of them back, showing us that their lettuce was brown. She wanted another 10 tacos. But of course, if you leave tacos out for 24 hours, the lettuce will turn. Love tacos? Here are some fun taco recipes to try.

Some fast-food workers definitely follow the 10-second rule

I have seen people drop food and then pick it back up and put it on the grill.

No, most of us do not donate our leftovers

I can’t believe how much food we throw out every day, especially at the end of the night. You, however, can do your part. Here's how you can cut back on food waste at home.

All fast-food restaurants are not created equal

Even restaurants within the same chain can vary widely depending on the owner and manager and what kind of standards they set.

When you take three handfuls of napkins or fill your purse with ketchup packets...

I don’t know what you call it, but I call it stealing. You’re just making things more expensive for everyone.

Please don’t ask what ingredients are in our fried chicken coating or in our special sauce

All of our recipes are proprietary, so they don’t even tell us what’s in them. But we can tell you why McDonald's Coke tastes better than anywhere else.

At some restaurants, managers get a bonus if they hold onto their employees and keep their turnover rate down

That gives us an incentive to keep people who aren’t very good, even if they don’t know the difference between a French fry and a screwdriver. And I’m not exaggerating; I’ve had employees who were that bad.

Most of us, even the managers, aren’t making much more than minimum wage

You wouldn’t believe the stuff we put up with for that kind of money. People constantly talk to me like I’m a two-year-old. I’ve had customers throw drinks at me and cuss at me. I’ve been held up at gunpoint.

At Taco Bell, most of our food does carry over, so we reheat it and serve it the next day

That’s why I never take my lunch break early. Plus, fast food can have some weird effects on your brain.

For the best deal at McDonald's, order off the dollar menu

You can get a lot of food for the same price as a meal and it will fill you up more.

We were supposed to wear gloves when we made food

But a lot of times my co-workers didn’t do it, and that really skeeved me out. Here are more dirty restaurant secrets the kitchen crew won't tell you.

Most of us don’t wash our hands as much as we should

Even though there are signs everywhere reminding us it's the law.

Look around to see how much trash is in the parking lot

And whether the bathrooms are dirty and if the dining room is picked up. When things that are so publicly visible are neglected, you can bet that even more is being neglected in the back and in the kitchen where no one can see them. That's just one of the things restaurant health inspectors wish you knew.

Once your order is in at the drive-through...

We have two minutes to get your food before the screen turns red, and the manager asks what’s going on.

We do laugh at you behind your back

Like when you mispronounce our menu items or when you think we can’t hear you through the drive-through speaker, yelling at your husband or kids.